Even though Destiny has been disruptive to other retail businesses, it is the biggest commercial success for the region in the last 20 years.

In the new HBO comedy series "Silicon Valley," the goal of the start-up company is to build an app "disruptive" to the status quo and be first to market. In places like Silicon Valley, Calif, Boulder, Colo. and Columbus, Ind., being disruptive, changing the status quo and challenging what exists is a sought after and highly valued commodity. It's also true that these regions are growing economically at rates much higher than the rest of the country. They embrace change and disruption and make decisions at a rapid pace.

Syracuse, on the other hand, is upside down. We resist change. Though we say we want innovation and we say we embrace change, that's not what our actions show.
It took Syracuse 10 years to move a bus stop 10 blocks.

Clinton Square was designed in 1977 and yet it took till 1992 to build.

The reluctance to change is quite evident in the current discussions about the future of Interstate-81. Citizen groups have formed to advocate keeping an elevated structure. Yet, if you have seen the artist's rendering of a what a new elevated I-81 would look like with a width increased by two lanes to accommodate shoulders under the new Department of Transportation guidelines, it looks like a Godzilla-sized structure looming over the city, plus it does not take into account the tremendous revitalization of city economies that have been jump started by taking down such structures.

Destiny USA is an example of disruptive change. After years of refusing to go forward, the Syracuse Common Council finally approved the PILOT agreement. Even though Destiny has been disruptive to other retail businesses, it is the biggest commercial success for the Central New York region in the last 20 years. Over the last year, it has created more that 1,500 jobs and has had shopper visits of over 25 million with about half of those coming from outside Onondaga County. Yet, with all the positives there are still those who complain about Destiny - presumably because they would have preferred the status quo. Destiny demonstrates the essence of progress - it can have good and bad attributes, but the good far outweighs the bad.

Then there is the sad saga of the Hotel Syracuse. After years of talk we are coming down to the final window of opportunity to restore it. Yet it is only now that the city started eminent domain proceedings. The initiative for that proceeding should have happened two mayors ago. And it took an economic pummeling of East Syracuse voters and two elections to see that it makes no sense with today's technology to maintain a stand-alone police force.

When Gov. Andrew Cuomo offered the city of Syracuse millions toward building a downtown stadium, Mayor Stephanie Miner's reaction was more about the present obstacles than its potential for the future. Sure there were challenges to overcome, but they dwarfed the positives that could have been achieved.

To those who say, "but I like things the way they are - I like my town and village - I don't need change," keep in mind there is a high price to pay. It means you can keep the past and present, but you lose the future, lose the opportunity to grow and create jobs, lose the opportunity to have your sons and daughters live and work here and build their families here instead of moving for opportunities elsewhere.

Why shouldn't we be just as successful as these other communities? They are in beautiful areas of the country, and so are we, but with more water than California and less sweltering heat than Texas. They have universities, and so do we. They have smart people and so do we. In my opinion what they have, that we do not have, is a willingness to accept bold change, to adapt, to embrace a future even when it might be disruptive.

If Syracuse wants to be more than a rest stop on the Thruway in the 21st century, then it needs to get its act together. There is a need for speed. The longer we take the further behind we get. For the next three years, our economy is projected to grow only a paltry 1 percent a year, less than the United State average, even less than the New York State average. Successful communities are growing at 5 to 7 percent a year.

Unquestionably, it is untenable to stay on our current path, but do we as a community have the guts and fortitude to embrace a bold, even disruptive, future? This is a grassroots decision for every single citizen. Not something that can be legislated or mandated. It has to be what you feel is best for yourself, your family and your community. Do we seize the day or does it slip through our fingers? What's your choice?

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